By Jennifer Miller
Staying in love, not fear.Posted in Darkness, Forgiveness, Hope, Meditation, Men, Prayers, Reflections, Self, Soul, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Energy, Jennifer Miller, Men, Prayers, Tragedy, Young Men
Beautiful morning to wake upPosted in Addiction, Detachment, Family, Heart-Based Healing, Hope, Knowledge, Life, Love, Men, Mothers, Pain, Recovery, Reflections, Self, Suffering, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Addictions, Jennifer Miller, Life, Recovery, Sons, Wisdom
By Jennifer Miller
Monday morning with the girls at the Recovery House was a time for true reflection. I have observed that there has been much less drama with this group than I have seen at other rehab centers. It has been very satisfying to hear from many that the yoga sessions have provided a calming and positive energy. I have turned it around to teach them of the importance of having the support of their “tribe”, women who truly care about them. In addition, many are mothers and have had their babies and children with them as they heal.
I looked around and didn’t see one of the regulars and asked where she was. There had been an incident and the police were called. My heart went out to her and I told the girls that I had felt her energy change last week. When she first arrived, she had been very low coming into rehab with a heroin addiction.
But I immediately saw a transformation take place as the yoga asanas had given her confidence, allowing for her to start believing in herself. She told me that she would continue yoga when she left.
But then I sensed her her energy shift back to a very low state last week when she asked to practice behind me, not wanting to be seen. I could feel her slipping away when I made attempts to reach inside her soul to bring her back…the drug was calling her.
The girls responded with comments that were very surprising and interesting:
Could I be honest with them and tell them if I felt them slipping?
Of course I would, feeling that honesty is so important to their recovery. Several went on to say that much of what is said in the house has ulterior motives. But with me, they sense and know that I care and feel safe being honest.
I feel in my heart that many in the room will continue practicing yoga and meditation when they leave. I have learned so much during my time with these young women. I felt hatred towards “addictions” based on how it had hurt and ravaged my family.
But if we meet the negative energy of addictions with an open heart, we can transform it into love. I would never have believed it until it happened to me.
Caroline Myss has spoken about addictions and says that it is “the hardest love you will ever experience”.
It’s like loving someone with a sword in their hand, and it is pointed right at you..
You love their heart, but it is their mind that is lost is not connected. The mind
Contact Jennifer Miller at yogagoddesslaguna@yahoo.com
and the heart must be brought together to become “one”. There can be no separation between the two if healing can begin. We have to learn to speak our truth and honor what is in our hearts.
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
Posted in Asanas, Heart-Based Healing, Hope, Knowledge, Life, Love, Mindfulness, Mothers, Recovery, Self, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Tagged Drug Addiction, Heart, Heart-Based Healing, Jennifer Miller, Mind, Mothers, Recovery, Recovery House, Women
By Jennifer Miller
Should we strive to be TAO (Transparent, Authentic and Open) at all times? I have always been open and honest with who I am as it has been an important part of my journey.
But are there times when we should refrain from opening our souls to others?
This represents an inner struggle I have within me. Whether to live by TAO at all times or be guarded when meeting with others that I do not have either an immediate or established connection. When we live our lives in fear of the unfamiliar or unknown, we risk shutting down emotionally and spiritually.
Contact Jennifer Miller at yogagoddesslaguna@yahoo.com
I have been through the dark night of the soul and have come back into the light of life. It is only through feeling the deep sorrows of being human that we can experience the true joy of healing, which leads to self-realization and ultimately inner peace.
Posted in Balance, Darkness, Heart-Based Healing, Life, Light, Pain, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Dark Night, Gossip, Healing, Heart-Based Healing, Jennifer Miller, Joy, Life, Sorrow, Soul, Wisdom, Women
“There is never an easy way to escape pain and trauma in life. You have to feel to heal…” Jennifer Miller
“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart.”
There is never an easy way to escape pain and trauma in life. You have to feel to heal…
Posted in Balance, Gratitude, Heart-Based Healing, Life, Mindfulness, Pain, Quotes, Reflections, Self, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Beauty, Connection, Heart, Heart-Based Healing, Helen Keller, Inner Beauty, Inner Wisdom, Life, Mind, Quotes, Wisdom
By Jennifer Miller
Life is for many of us a journey that involves ”letting go”, releasing harmful or negative things, desires, thoughts, visions, and people. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali describe this state of “non-attachment” as follows:
The path to “utter desirelessness” or non-attachment is combined with asana practice to make up the core principles of yoga. But letting go has also been important to me as I have moved through challenging times in my life. Quieting my mind allows me to rise above drama and negative issues during my day, like an impartial witness floating above the scene in a movie.
This is increasingly important as a mother raising children during their teen years. It is only natural to want to teach them about life, to save them from making mistakes or experiencing failures. By practice the art of letting go, I know that they are on their own personal journey and have the freedom to make choices that enhance their life or not. I will not take their “negative” choices personally. It is their life and I cannot expect to control what is clearly their own free will.
Freedom and peace has filled my soul when only a few years ago I agonized and could be paralyzed with pain. And it will remain a process for me, a practice devoted to letting go. By giving others the freedom make their own decisions without judgment or emotion, I have increased my sense of inner peace and freedom as well.
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
Posted in Asanas, Freedom, Life, Mothers, Pain, Reflections, Self, Suffering, Teenagers, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Tagged Freedom, Jennifer Miller, Letting Go, Life, Mothers, Non-attachment
“A little over an hour of meditation training can dramatically reduce both the experience of pain and pain-related brain activation,” says Fadel Zeidan, a neuroscientist. NPR Health Blog, April 6, 2011
Yoga has taught me to be present and feel what is going on in my body and mind both during my practice and outside of it. It teaches us the importance of self-awareness. And it is the meditative benefits of breathing, called “pranayama”, that allows a calming to wash over your body.
I came acrosse an article in “NPR”, short for National Public Radio, that cites the physical benefits of “mindfulness meditation” in reducing both physical pain and our “perception of pain” through limiting our “stress response”:
“In the study, a small group of healthy medical students attended four 20-minute training sessions on “mindfulness meditation” — a technique adapted from a Tibetan Buddhist form of meditation called samatha. It’s all about acknowledging and letting go of distraction.”
“You are trying to sustain attention in the present moment — everything is momentary so you don’t need to react,” Zeidan explains. “What that does healthwise is it reduces the stress response. The feeling of pain is a very blatant distraction.”
“After meditation training, the subjects reported a 40 percent decrease in pain intensity and a 57 percent reduction in pain unpleasantness. And it wasn’t just their perception of pain that changed. Brain activity changed too.”
NPR Health Blog, April 6, 2011
A simple form of meditation is to count as you inhale deeply through your nose and exhale out through your mouth, saying ”one” as you breathe out. Try to reach 60 in a very deliberate and “self-aware” manner. Simple pains and tensions should begin to ease.
And as you can see, medical studies are starting to demonstrate the physiological benefits as well.
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
Posted in Breathing, Life, Meditation, Pain, Reflections, Suffering, Women, Yoga
Tagged Breathing, Jennifer Miller, Meditation, Pain, Pranayama, Stress, Yoga
“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.” ― Albert Einstein, Theoretical PhysicistAll of us put our desires and dreams out into the universe and hope they are realized some day. But it is very unhealthy to keep putting our energy into people and things, over and over again, and then wishing for a different outcome. The Einstein quote I referenced defines this as “insanity”, or ”crazy”, reminding me of a favorite quote:
“Crossing the Street” is recognizing when we have become “attached” to harmful and debilitating thoughts, actions and ”things” in life and taking the steps necessary to avoid repeating the “same old mistakes”.
But it is hard to break with these “things”, and many women choose to numb out and block the pain and suffering of attachment through drinking and sedatives. They are in denial while justifying their lives to family, friends and themselves. I advise them to make the tough choice to feel their emotions; all of them know their situation or choices are not healthy or stable.
I will write more on the importance of living in the present and appreciating and loving ourselves. Embrace your emotions because when you feel them, you are living your life and not avoiding reality. This is the beauty of feeling and healing; and the secret of breaking the cycle of suffering.
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
Posted in Attachment, Denial, Freedom, Hope, Life, Reflections, Suffering, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Attachment, Denial, Happiness, Living in Denial, Living in the Moment, Mistakes, Present, Suffering, Women
“Attachment is the origin, the root of suffering; hence it is the cause of suffering.”Posted in Attachment, Balance, Denial, Eating Disorders, Family, Freedom, Gratitude, Hope, Knowledge, Life, Suffering, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Abusive Marriages, Abusive Relationships, Attachment, Compulsive Shopping, Denial, Drug Addiction, Jennifer Miller, Living in Denial, Material Things, Overeating, Substance Abuse, Things
